Go Away Light
by SkyChasingDreamer
Summary: Hijikata goes on a mission, an official police matter of missing persons, and it doesn't go at all the way it's supposed to. Thanks to Gintoki, of course. Hijikata/Gintoki.


**Title**: Go Away Light

**Pairing**: Hijikata/Gintoki

**Rating**: NC17

**For**: Lavi - hearts and hugs and every manner of hip thrusting your way

**Disclaimer:** No

**Go Away Light**

**(GAL)**

It was going on eleven when Hijikata walked inside the club in his pristine burgundy kimono and platform geta. The shoes were slightly uncomfortable, but he walked like there was nothing amiss and cutting right to the chase, he was undercover. Hence, he was dressed as a woman, passing security – they handed him a few things after he was cleared – into a nightclub, and he was wearing _makeup_. Not only that, but his hair was long, a clip-in of fake hair gave him a ponytail that currently fanned over his right shoulder.

It was embarrassing, but he was on a mission and he knew what he had to do. The venue was just... different and not at all his usual scene. A swinger's club? Why couldn't it just be an ordinary nightclub, why a _swinger's club_? He had nothing against the lifestyle, but it was an area that he was unfamiliar with, a nightclub would have been bad enough, and how had he even gotten roped into being the one to do it? Zaki had proven already that he was good at wearing dresses and makeup and walking in woman shoes. But no, it was Hijikata at the club, wading through the people and getting more uncomfortable by the second.

This wasn't a social situation he wanted to be in and after fifteen minutes, he was ready to get the hell out of there. Of course, he couldn't. He was stuck looking for someone while he got attention and disturbances from people he didn't want anything to do with. He was irritated and tried his best to keep his brow from ticking. He knew he had to try and look friendly, but like fuck did he want to look approachable. He walked himself in circles for almost twenty minutes and ground his teeth as he went. There was a sweat on his brow even though it wasn't very warm in the place and was it getting harder to breathe?

Whatever, it was probably nothing.

He declined drinks, pushed by people that tried to stop him, and the thing was, he was _trying_ to be polite, but he knew he was coming off as a complete ass. Low profile, that was the mantra he had in his head, keep a low profile, he couldn't draw attention to himself. The whole purpose of looking like a woman was obviously so that no one would recognize that he was a cop, but he was starting to think his temper was going to give him away before he accomplished anything.

Because of that, he tried to work fast, but not too fast. Casual, that was what he had to look like, like he was merely perusing and taking it all in. It was too bad that he blushed at every corner because there were people everywhere doing every manner of intimate things from holding hands to having sex right in the hallway. Hijikata's eyes would skitter away and he'd blush red and goddamn, it was really getting hard to breathe, wasn't it?

There were groups of people gathered around a pair having sex sometimes and other times more than just two people were a part of it. Hijikata didn't stay in any of those groups and the idea of being a voyeur to complete strangers didn't exactly appeal to him at all. There were several different rooms in the place and Hijikata wasn't sure how many he'd found and how many he had left to pass through. He messed with the hem of his kimono around his neck and wiped some sweat from his brow, he didn't feel in danger, but he didn't feel quite right, either.

A mouth suddenly pressed to Hijikata's ear, asking above the music, "What're you doing here?"

He recognized the voice and it made his face turn redder as he jumped in place and bit his tongue to suppress a squawk. He spun on Gintoki and glared, but his shoes made him stumble and that took away from the intimidation he was going for. Gintoki was wearing his usual outfit, he wasn't dressed up too much, but he still looked like he fit in somehow. Except for the hair, that always stuck out.

"C-could ask you the same thing!"

Even as he said it, Hijikata swayed and his eyes widened because something wasn't right. His first thought was that someone had drugged him, but he hadn't had anything to drink. For just a second his vision wavered, but it wasn't like he felt sluggish to the point where he thought he was going to fall asleep, quite the opposite. He felt hyper-aware of everything around him, his heart was beating rapidly, he didn't know what was happening and he didn't want to make a spectacle of himself. He just looked at Gintoki, lips parted, words on the tip of his tongue, but nothing came out.

"This way, there's a private place."

Hijikata didn't question a single thing, he just let Gintoki put an arm around his waist and guide him to wherever it was they were going. He tried – so damn hard, he tried – to walk slow, to keep up the facade of being some mystical courtesan or whatever the fuck advice Kondo had given him about aura and giving off the right vibes. But in actuality, the only thing keeping him from bolting was the pressure around his waist. It was forceful enough to tell him where to go and keep him close, but loose enough that to anyone else it would look casual. The blush he could do nothing about, he didn't even try, it was the least of his worries.

Gintoki led him through a couple rooms, people were coupling, off in their own corners or right up front touching, making out, having sex. It was like they didn't care at all what was going on around them or that other people were looking. Hijikata was doing his best not to glance their way, he kept his eyes down so that his hair got in his face and his whole body was tense. He probably looked like a board walking or one of those living dead zombie things everyone was raving about for the apocalypse, but he couldn't breathe and that took priority over the way he might have looked.

Meanwhile, Gintoki was fluid, he moved with ease between and around people, always keeping Hijikata from having to so much as brush a single person. One time they got stopped by a large dude with bara arms wanting to buy them both a drink – it _was _a swinger's club, after all – but Gintoki merely sidestepped him with a decline delivered with a smile that was both flirtatious and a definite end to the conversation. Only an idiot like Gintoki would be able to pull something like that off, Hijikata just kept staring at the ground, face at maximum red. If it were him, he'd have sliced the guy's arms off and told him to go fuck himself, but that would have ended... poorly.

They got to the room, Hijikata couldn't take it in properly, and before the door was even closed, Hijikata was sucking in a heavy breath, but it didn't come in as easy as it should have. His vision went a little dark at the edges and he stumbled a step before there were hands on his shoulders to steady him. They guided him to turn around, then gently pushed him back until he was sitting on a plush white cushion that he figured was supposed to be a seat, but was clearly too big for just one. Gintoki's face floated before his eyes and Hijikata clutched his throat, it was getting impossible to breathe, he wasn't getting enough oxygen.

"_Ohh_, okay, okay, hold on, I know what's up." Hijikata's body rocked slightly and suddenly Hijikata could breathe again. "There ya go, that's it." Gintoki was gone only a moment before he was back again and pressing a cup into Hijikata's hand. "Here, water."

Hijikata gratefully took a sip, then a bigger one, and after that started to feel better. It was only then that he noticed that his kimono was hanging wide open and he spilled some of his water on his hand as he tried to close it up again. He was all flustered, his face so hot along his cheeks he could start a fire from it.

"The hell d'ya do?"

Gintoki wasn't phased at all. "That's no way for a lady to speak."

"I ain't no lady, asshat!"

"Clearly."

"Seriously, what'd ya do?"

Gintoki held up some fabric. "Removed your obi and obijime."

"Oh..."

"Yeah. A kimono... it isn't made for dudes. They get tight, you know? Well, obviously now you do, heh."

Hijikata, still breathing hard, clutched his water with one hand and his kimono closed with the other, utterly mortified at himself. What if he'd passed out? How embarrassing would that have been? Not only would he have failed and blown his cover, but he would have made a complete fool out of himself as well. In front of the goddamn Yorozuya, too! God, this night was already such a disaster! Almost suffocated by his clothes, he'd never be able to move on with his life if Sougo ever found out!

"It happened to me once."

Hijikata startled and forgot his mortification for a second as he stared at Gintoki. "It... did?"

Gintoki gave an easy laugh and nudged the cup closer to Hijikata's mouth until he took a sip. "You know my alter ego, Paako, right?"

He nodded and took another drink. "Never seen it, but yeah."

"As you can see, I'm a big guy, and when I first squeezed myself into a kimono I thought hey, this isn't so bad! It's a little snug, but that's alright, I can handle this! I was wrong. Totally. That thing knocked me right the fuck out on my face after, I don't remember, an hour or something. Me! Taken down by a kimono in front of all Saigou's customers!"

"You're joking."

"I'm not!"

Hijikata snorted. "Least I didn't do somethin' like that."

"Yeah, took'em ten minutes or something to revive me with a phoenix down. They'd torn my kimono and it still comes up every once in awhile. They'll look at me and sorta giggle and I know it's coming, but I still let'em bring it up." Hijikata tipped his head back and finished off the water. "More?" Hijikata sighed and shook his head, his breathing leveling out and the stupid conversation bringing him back to the present. "'Kay. But what brings you here of all places?"

The present just slammed itself right into Hijikata's face. He and Gintoki were kind of friends, kind of not, mostly they just ran into each other and bickered. They didn't dislike each other, he knew that, but they similarly didn't like each other. It was complicated, whatever it was.

"That's classified," Hijikata said sternly, then did a double take. "Wait! W-wait! What're _you _doing here?"

"A job." Gintoki pulled out a picture from his pocket. "Missing person. Found her and got her where she needed to be, but then I saw you and kinda made my way back in."

Hijikata took the picture and groaned as he pulled out a matching picture from a fold of his kimono. "But that's who I was here for..."

"Really? Ha! Her mom had stopped by the apartment a couple days ago!"

"Figures," Hijikata spat bitterly, "her father had done the same when he came to the Shinsengumi! Are you fuckin' kidding me?" Hijikata stood, he had to move around, he was pissed! "I had to get all gussied up in this fuckin' thing for nothing? This was all just a huge waste of time! Perfect! Fuckin' perfect! The goddamn kimono almost kills me and I gotta be saved by a permy haired asshole!" Heh heard Gintoki snickering and he threw the crumpled up picture at his face. "Quiet! This is all your fault!"

"Mine? Don't be mad just 'cause I beat you to it. Not like we coulda known her parents were going to different places for help." Gintoki was eying him up and down. "You don't look too bad in that."

"Shut up," Hijikata growled.

"I'm serious, it kinda... works."

Hijikata turned on him and punched his gut. "I said s-shut up!"

"Ack! Shit! Right in the spleen!"

"Your spleen is on the other side!"

Gintoki adjusted his hands and tried again with an, "Ah! It hurts! The pa –"

"Stop. Jus' stop now you're embarrassin' yourself." Hijikata took a deep breath and honestly, this was so annoying. What an inconvenience! While he cooled down, he took his first good look at the room and it was small, beige colored, mostly, but it was pretty nice. There was a water dispenser and a small table next to it with cups and tissues... Hijikata didn't want to think about why those in particular were there so he told himself it was for sanitary reasons and left it at that. The seat he'd been sitting on that Gintoki now occupied was white and leathery and as he'd suspected, big enough for two. It did help to calm him down, something so ordinary, and he felt stupid standing there in the middle holding his kimono closed. "Least I can go now."

"Why? You're already here. Have some fun!"

Incredulous, Hijikata pointed a thumb to the door. "Does that out there look like the kinda _fun_ I have?"

"You don't look like you have much fun at all," Gintoki replied dubiously. "C'mon stay for awhile! Let's have some drinks!"

"No."

"What's the harm in it? You're here, you're dressed up –"

"As a woman!"

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that since it's irrelevant. Just one drink?"

"I said no!"

"Why not?"

"Why d'ya wanna stay so bad?"

"I like it here."

"_Haaah?_"

"Is that really such a surprise? I like the atmosphere, it's all charged and stuff. And at least your getup won't go to waste, you can get whatever you want."

Hijikata was flabbergasted. "I d-don't – what?"

"Free drinks. I've only been here once before, not as Paako, as me," he motioned to himself, "and it doesn't matter what gender you are, if they like you – boom! They buy you stuff!"

"That's disgusting."

"No, it's not. It looks really fun! A lot of these people are really cool!"

"What of _no_ don't you understand?"

"Probably the last part, that o thing. I have a terrible attention span, you lose me after the nnnnn noise."

"My god, you are so stupid!"

"But not stupid enough to know that if you don't have at least one drink with me Okita-kun will probably somehow find out about the whole kimono thing."

Hijikata's jaw dropped. "Are you _blackmailing_ me?"

"I prefer to call it compromising, but yes." He smirked. "It's only a drink."

"Just one?" Hijikata asked, squinting his eyes, he wasn't sure he believed the bastard.

"That's it! I just wanna try this place out and it's more fun when there's someone with me."

"Thought you said you'd been here before."

"Just to pick a client up awhile back, she'd gotten smashed and drunk dialed me thinking she'd called her sister or something."

Weighing his options, Hijikata huffed and specified, "_One_. Then I'm gone, now help me with this thing."

Grinning, Gintoki jumped to his feet. "You look like you could use a drink."

Hijikata agreed, but didn't say so and stood still while Gintoki walked around him to help him get the kimono right. "You sure ya know what you're doin'?"

"Yeah, I've got this. Gonna have'ta tear it a little 'round the waist, but it should be better now. If not I can adjust it later."

"One drink shouldn't take long," Hijikata uttered, sure that his face was just going to stay red for all eternity.

"True." The clothes rustled as Gintoki continued to mess with them. "There, how's that?"

Hijikata took a deep breath to test it, though he didn't know what exactly he was feeling for. "Fine, I guess."

"Good, let's go!"

Gintoki led the way out and Hijikata picked up his small bag off the floor, he must have dropped it when his kimono was opened. He followed Gintoki and kept his head down until he was being pulled into a booth in the shape of a horseshoe. It wasn't very big, which he kind of liked, but he wished there was an actual table in front of them instead of the dingy glass one no bigger than a nightstand. The music was louder now that they were out of the room and was a mix of upbeat and slow, it was almost nice to listen to if he didn't imagine people having sex to it.

Leaning in closer to Gintoki, he asked, "What's the thing 'bout the lights?"

"You still have your flicking light thing?" Hijikata pulled his out of his bag where he'd stuffed it and pressed the top so that the tiny light flashed. "Good, you'll need it. Every once in awhile the lights will go out and when they do you're allowed to do whatever you want. Feel someone up, kiss'em, all that. But if someone touches you and you don't want'em to, you flash the light and they back off. That's why this place is called Black Out."

"People actually stop if ya flash it?"

"Don't see why they wouldn't."

"How d'ya figure?"

"It makes sense that they'd stop, this place is kinda nice that way I'd think. These people are just trying to experiment and explore, most of'em don't mean any harm. If they stop, they can try with someone else, if they don't, they get kicked out and banned permanently. Usually it's pretty easy to pick out the perverts, ne?" Gintoki asked and winked, making Hijikata curl his nose. "Weren't you listening to anything the security people said?"

"Not really, I had," underwear riding up his ass, "never mind. What happens when the lights come back on?'

Gintoki shrugged. "Whatever you want? Stop and talk, move on, go off with whoever, it doesn't matter."

"Can I get you two anything?"

They both looked up at the woman in her short blue kimono and Gintoki smiled. "We'll both have Black Holes, thanks."

She nodded and walked off and Hijikata poked Gintoki's ribs. "A Black Hole? Whazzat?"

"Dunno! It's their signature drink, so I thought," he raised both hands, "why not?"

Hijikata snorted and since they were just sitting, it didn't seem so bad. If he ignored all the sex related things and focused on getting some down time... he felt guilty. He should be back doing Paperwork-san, not sitting in a plush mauve booth with a loser while people around him mingled and he silently pretended he knew what to do with himself.

"Lighten up!" Gintoki said, elbowing Hijikata. "You look pissed!"

"I can't help it!"  
"Sure you can! Just loosen up here," he pressed his thumb against Hijikata's brow, "and maybe smile a little." Hijikata gave him a flat look. "Okay, maybe not smile. Just, guh, tone down your intent to kill for a bit."

"Maybe I will if you stop touchin' me."

Gintoki was hands off right away and they both looked up again when they heard, "Oo, newbies!"

"How'd you know?" Gintoki asked, motioning to one of the chairs across from them.

"In a place like this, it's always easy to tell." He looked them both up and down with a little smile. "And I'd definitely remember the two of you. Name's Iori."

"I'm Dai and this is Hi...karu."

"Need anything to drink?"

Gintoki leaned back and explained they had some on the way and Hijikata was beside himself. Fake names? He was letting this guy hit on them? Okay, the fake names didn't matter so much, but the second one did!

"You two lovers?"

They shared a look and Hijikata flushed while Gintoki replied, "Friends. She's putting up with me 'cause I wanted to try this place out."

"Ah, how good of her," Iori replied, raising his glass to him.

Hijikata tried for a smile, knew he failed, and leaned over to whisper fiercely to Gintoki, "I'm a _man_."

"Dressed as a woman, everyone can see that!" Gintoki retorted behind his hand. "No one cares what you identify yourself as." To Iori, he asked, "You with anyone?"

"Yes, I never travel alone. My partner is," he looked over his shoulder, then laughed and waved his free hand, "somewhere out there. Oh, your drinks are here."

Gintoki took his and Hijikata did the same, surprised that the drink itself was actually black. Small wonder how it got its name.

"Oi, you have your complimentary drink ticket you got at the security check?"

Hijikata reached into the fold he'd put the picture earlier and found a small square paper in there. It was all black and glossy with the words 'complimentary drink' embroidered in gold on it. Gintoki's glass clinked against his own and with a shared look, they both brought their drinks to their lips and took a sip.

-o-O-o-

"Go, go, go, go, go!" Hijikata yelled alongside everyone else as a chick named Fumi passed a shot glass to the person next to her, Hijikata thought the guy's name was Aguri or something, without using her hands or mouth.

The person that dropped it had to take a shot and to make it more interesting, they had a pool going, betting on who'd drop it next. It'd been maybe an hour – more? – since they'd sat down and, oh, yeah, Hijikata was maybe a little more than halfway drunk. He was buzzing so hard, his thoughts were swimming deliciously, and, truth be told, after that first drink, he'd started enjoying himself.

And also yeah, they were a circle now. He and Gintoki hadn't moved, but more people had come to join them and all in all, they were fun. He knew it was Gintoki that had attracted them with all his social-ness and charisma, blah, blah, blah, obviously the game had been his idea, too. Gintoki had also been right about the drinks, he got whatever he wanted, they both did, and there were no obligations for it, no one expected anything from them. It let them just sit back and enjoy themselves and play stupid games that were maybe a lot more fun than Hijikata had thought.

He'd obviously gotten talked into staying. He thought he could be resolute and firm about leaving, but Gintoki had a weird kind of charm that coerced Hijikata otherwise. He wasn't proud he'd been so easily swayed, but he also didn't have any regrets over it.

"Ha!" Gintoki yelled when Okimi tried to take the shot glass from Aguri's shoulder under her chin and fumbled. "No, don't you look at me like that, Tadaaki! I had you pegged! Pegged! Cough up the dough!"

Across the circle, Tadaaki pulled out some money, calling, "You and Hikaru are bleeding me dry!"

Gintoki took the yen and beamed. "I can't help alla you are foolish enough to bet against us!"

"Gimme half," Hijikata demanded.

"Not a chance! It's my bet!"

"I told ya t'do it!"

They were leaning into each other as they spoke, they'd been doing that since the Black Hole they had had and that thing had been _strong_.

"You're almost outta drink," Gintoki bargained, "how 'bout I get'cha one of them fire shot things?"

"Argh, get us both one'n it's a deal."

Gintoki pressed his shoulder more firmly into Hijikata and raised his hand to the waitress whose name they'd learned was Nae. But then they both screamed when the lights went off and that was the funniest fucking thing. Two grown ass men screaming over something like that? Ridiculous! It was too funny not to laugh and he did, he couldn't help it. He leaned forward and barked out this loud, mostly strangled noise when the rest of the room had gone quiet. It would have been awful if there wasn't another laugh with his own just before there was an arm over Hijikata's shoulders and a hand on his mouth.

"Shh, shh, quiet," Gintoki whispered, his whole body shaking with suppressed laughter.

They leaned against each other in the dark and Hijikata had to fumble for his flashlight thing when he felt someone touch his shoulder. Thank god he found the little fucker and quickly pressed the button to make it light up. The hand disappeared right away and Gintoki's free hand came over to grab the hand Hijikata had holding the flashy thing. What the hell was it called? Whatever, he'd just call it the Go Away Light. For some reason, that only made it funnier and he choked behind Gintoki's hand, he was tempted to bite it just for the hell of it.

"Shut up," Gintoki murmured right into Hijikata's ear, though he was doing a terrible job of keeping his voice down. "Ahhh, no, gross, you're biting me, quit it! I said quit!"

"Shhh," Hijikata reminded from between Gintoki's fingers and the sound that came out of his throat wasn't a giggle.

A man such as him did not _giggle_. Not even when in a kimono.

But _maybe_ he would if he was on his way to drunk in a dark room at a nightclub while wearing a kimono.

Gintoki snorted and pressed on Hijikata's thumb to make the light flash, that little blip not enough to illuminate anything going on around them. Hijikata could hear stuff though, like kissing sounds and rustling clothes and clanking drinks. He felt fine because of where he was and none of that was coming anywhere near him. The alcohol made him less alert, obviously, but that was sort of a good thing because he wasn't half as preoccupied as he'd usually be by the idea of some random person touching him in the darkness to initiate something with him. And all around the room, little lights flashed like white fireflies or like cameras flashing, even starts twinkling, it was somewhat soothing to watch.

"Drink," Hijikata muttered against one of Gintoki's fingers, he thought it might be the middle one.

Both of Gintoki's arms moved, one staying limp around Hijikata's shoulders and the other let go of Hijikata's Go Away Light hand. The rim of a glass touched Hijikata's cheek and he turned his head, grabbing Gintoki's wrist as he tipped the glass so he could have another drink. He let go when he was done and the burn of the liquor wasn't as strong as it'd been before, but it still scorched at the back of his throat. It felt good, getting out and laughing, actually _laughing_, and letting loose felt good. It'd been such a long time since it'd happened and he'd forgotten that he actually sort of enjoyed stuff like this. Maybe not a nightclub, but just relaxing and letting go of some of the tight hold he always held on himself. He didn't have to think about work, about priorities, it was all in the moment.

The lights came back on and it startled Hijikata enough to drop the Go Away Light. Gintoki removed his arm and all around them people adjusted the way they wanted. Some got up and left, some stayed and started talking again, some kept kissing and feeling each other up in their booths. It didn't bother Hijikata like it had earlier and he was surprised the lights hadn't stay off longer. That had only been a few minutes and that had also been the first time they'd turned off since he'd been there.

"It has a random setting."

Hijikata looked at Iori and raised a brow. "Was I talkin'?"

"Yeah," he laughed softly, "you asked that out loud."

"Oh."

"Set on random?" Gintoki questioned and Hijikata saw Nae walking away.

"Programmed, you know." He swayed in his seat, they were all getting pretty wasted. "Computer chips. No one is controlling it, they just go off with no pattern. Some nights more, some nights less."

"I think we picked a good night," Gintoki said to Hijikata and grinned at him.

Hijikata reached out and pinched his cheek. "Stupid smile."

"It's not!"

"Is! Too flashy."

"Good! Gotta make up for all your grump!"

"It ain't grump."

"No? What's it then?"

"Misery." Gintoki made a face and Hijikata rolled his eyes to the ceiling, thinking, then waved a hand. "Mystery! I said mystery."

"Pfff! Think ya had it right the first time with misery! Ya work too much."

"Gotta make up for all your laziness!" Hijikata said, twisting Gintoki's words from before.

Gintoki laughed. "Touche!"

"Your drinks! I think you'll like these!"

"Thanks, Nae!" Gintoki took them and had to be careful because they were actually on fire. He handed one to Hijikata and hooked their arms so they were linked. "Bottoms up!"

They gave each other a backward toast, blew out the shots, and downed them. Both started coughing after swallowing, whatever the fuck was in this one was literally burning its way down Hijikata's throat.

"Holy shit! What'd ya order us?"

"Fire," Gintoki cleared his throat, "Fire Pit, s'what they called it."

Hijikata's eyes were watering and they unlinked their arms to set their shot glasses onto the table that was full of empty cups from everyone in their circle. Gintoki thumped his back and he laughed a little, it just kind of bubbled up out of his chest. He felt so warm, be it from the alcohol or whatever, it was a comfortable warm, like being curled up on his futon under his blanket. Gintoki still had a hand on his back, but he was talking to Tadaaki about something. Hijikata didn't think Gintoki noticed he was rubbing his back, but Hijikata wasn't going to stop him.

He was actually watching Gintoki talk, the way his lips moved and how his expression changed. His voice was low, but carried, it wasn't a bad noise. Well, not annoying like Hijikata usually found it to be. The music was still that mix of fast and slow and he'd learned that it wasn't so loud where they were because they were in a room farther from it. Someone, Hijikata couldn't remember who, had told them that some people liked to be right up next to the speakers while they fooled around because of the vibrations from the bass. Hijikata had blushed like a fucking school boy, he was really getting so tired of that.

But that reminded him and he looked back over at Gintoki who had little splotches of red at the tops of his cheeks. Hijikata knew that if Gintoki had a little flush, then his own was worse, but it was nice to know that Gintoki actually flushed sometimes.

Gintoki noticed him watching and looked over, his hand pausing. "Okay?"

He nodded and busied himself with smoothing out his kimono over his lap and Gintoki's hand started moving again, the conversation with Tadaaki resuming. Squinting up, Hijikata looked Tadaaki over and didn't see anything special about him. He wasn't wearing anything fetching, his dark hair was a boring side part of wavy, not permy, locks. His eyes were a dull hazel and there just... wasn't anything really striking about him at all. His legs were too crossed when he sat, no man should be able to cross their legs like that, it was unnatural. Yeah.

The tips of Gintoki's fingers rose too high and accidentally brushed the skin of his neck. It was just for a second before the hand was going back down to the middle of his shoulders, but it made him warmer. It made Hijikata stiffen and he stayed like that staring at the table with all the drinks while the whole club bustled around him. The heat was spreading from his neck and down, this wasn't alcohol heat, either.

Hijikata knew himself, he knew his body, so he knew that right then, in that moment, he wanted Gintoki. He didn't know the first thing about two guys together, but he also didn't care. Maybe it was being inebriated that made him so bold or maybe it was just the clarity of knowing what he wanted, maybe still the heady atmosphere was getting to him, it was hard to say. But regardless of the actual reason, when he said 'hey' and Gintoki looked over, Hijikata kissed him short and quick. And if he weren't so close he might have thought that Gintoki didn't feel anything at all, but since he _was_ close, he saw how Gintoki's pupils blew wider and that at least told him something.

The lights went out.

Neither of them moved.

It was like the lack of light had stilled and put pause to them. Sounds picked up around them and it took awhile, but it was Gintoki that moved first. Hijikata felt him shift on the seat and then something small was being pressed into Hijikata's left palm. It was the Go Away Light, he recognized it after he ran his thumb over it, but he didn't press it. He instead waited with his heart pounding in his throat, he knew he could press the button at any point, just press it, that was all and everything would stop. Gintoki's hand grabbed his chin, thumb brushing his lips to help him see in the dark, then it was lips instead of a thumb and the button lay dark in Hijikata's hand.

It was what he wanted and the only way he could think to let Gintoki know that was to kiss him back with greater fervor. He just went for it and threw an arm around Gintoki's shoulders to hold him there. The darkness his his blush and gave him courage, emboldening him where usually he wouldn't have enough intent. He licked Gintoki's lips until they opened for him and from there Hijikata lost track of everything. It was all mouths and wandering hands and making out in the dark without a single care in the world. He pressed the button when he felt someone touch his hair and Gintoki didn't even pause, he instead pulled Hijikata closer, away from whoever it'd been.

Gintoki's hand grabbed his thigh and ran down to his knee and he groaned, he wasn't expecting it to feel that good. He didn't think about keeping his voice down, he didn't think about anything at all, just kissing and touching and letting Gintoki find his hand to push the button when he needed to. Hijikata didn't want anyone touching either of them, he just wanted this to go on, for Gintoki to keep kissing down his neck and for him to be able to keep his hand buried in permy hair that was so much softer than he'd thought it would be.

He knew his kimono was probably messed up, Gintoki's clothes were rumpled, and he liked the thought of it. He wanted to do more, really mess them both up, and when Gintoki kissed him again, he bit his lip and pulled it outward. Gintoki's hand came up and brushed his hair back, sliding through it and pushing his bangs back. The holds Gintoki had on him felt possessive in the dark and the taste of salt lingered on his tongue mixed in with alcohol and a new taste he could only label as _Gintoki_.

The light came back on.

Both of them stopped moving.

It was too bright, Hijikata had to blink and squint to let his gaze adjust and when it did –

"S-sexy."

Gintoki blinked back at him, his pupils wide and dark and his eyes so goddamn red they glowed. They were wrapped up in each other's arms, panting, lips spit slick and red, Gintoki's hand still on his thigh.

"You do know you're supposed to try _new _things at places like this, right?"

Hijikata glanced at... what was her name again? He thought it might start with an _rrr_ sound, but no, it didn't matter, figuring it out would be a waste of time. She must have thought he and Gintoki were already lovers or something, but that didn't matter, either. In the moment, nothing mattered except the two of them.

Grabbing the other's hand, he got up and pulled Gintoki with him. They stumbled their way through the people, Gintoki right behind him, holding his hip and guiding him when he needed to. It was on one of those times when Gintoki grabbed his hip and squeezed that a low, gravelly moan got surprised right out of Hijikata. Gintoki must have heard it because suddenly they were moving quicker and even though Hijikata was in front, he wasn't leading anymore. They were both pretty uncoordinated after drinking so much and sitting so long, but by god they were going to get to where they were going.

The moment they were in the same room as before – thank fuck it was empty! – they were all over each other. Clumsy, sloppy, hands everywhere, tongues down each other's throats. It was frenzied and blurry and Hijikata pushed Gintoki's yukata off with no memory of undoing the belts. Gintoki's shirt was unzipped and Hijikata's hands touched skin, warm, enticing, scarred skin. Gintoki's skin was white and creamy, porcelain, but Hijikata knew better than to think Gintoki was anywhere near breakable.

It felt so empowering to be with someone, a person who could rival him and take care of him. He'd let go of thinking, it was all about feeling what he could and Gintoki wasn't holding back with him. They bit and scratched, something tore, clothes, maybe. Hijikata didn't think about being with a man, they were just two people in the room, and their only desire was to be together, that was what it felt like. He knew he was pretty drunk, that Fire Pit had knocked him right to the edge, but he was hard and there was a hot, willing body pressed against his own.

"Want," Hijikata slurred, grabbing Gintoki's ass with both hands and squeezing.

He felt the other jolt, but he assumed it was because of the touch, he wasn't quite seeing too straight at the moment. Gintoki brought a hand up to his own mouth and sucked a couple fingers in, slicking them up with a few swirls of his tongue. Hijikata didn't know where the hand went after that, he had an idea, but he couldn't make it out through the fuzz in his head. All he could focus on was getting Gintoki's mouth back on his and damn everything, he succeeded. He was relentless with it, going after what felt good and touching everywhere, especially _skin_.

"Hurry," he urged and when he'd had quite enough of waiting, he shoved Gintoki around.

It would have been mortifying any sober time if he saw the way he fiddled with his clothes to get them open, but actually living the moment, he couldn't care. He fumbled and pulled and tugged until he could expose his cock and just to relieve himself a little, he spat in his palm and gave himself a couple pumps. The touch felt amazing when he was so hard, but before he even decided to, he was helping to pull Gintoki's pants and dumb strawberry boxers down. There was no time to be wasted, there was only haste as he bent Gintoki over the white seat and lined himself up.

Curses, so many curses, flew out of Hijikata's mouth as he pushed in. Gintoki was hot and tight – so much more than he'd expected – and it had been way too long since Hijikata had had nay kind of sex because he was already close to cumming. Gintoki's back arched upward, it reminded Hijikata of a bridge and since Gintoki's spine was the road, Hijikata followed it with his a hand as far as he could, making Gintoki's shirt ride up. It was like a big catch stretching, a tiger, maybe. That was what Gintoki's arching back reminded him of.

It had been so long since Hijikata had jerked off and even longer since he'd gone to Yoshiwara for a quick one off, he knew he wasn't going to last. Gintoki was nothing like he'd ever experienced before and that applied to everything outside the room as well, hell, since they'd first met Gintoki had set a whole new standard in Hijikata's world. He thrust his hips, slowly at first, then quickly gaining speed. His nails dug into Gintoki's back and dragged down, scoring red marks in their wake.

Pleasure ensconced Hijikata in something binding, he almost couldn't breathe in the smallness of the room and the vastness of passion. He'd gotten lost in a sea somewhere and though he was swimming, he didn't know which way was shore. He fucked into Gintoki, teeth grit, but noises still spilled out of his mouth. He couldn't hold on tight enough, he could feel his dick pulsing and a different kind of white heat spooling at the base of his spine. The wet slap of their skin was so erotic and feeling the sheer strength of Gintoki beneath his hands, that was such a turn on and he didn't even know he liked that.

"Fuck – c-cumming, m'fuckin' cumming." His back was tensing, the well was breaking, waves were crashing inside him. He didn't think about staying in or pulling out, he just did what felt right and slammed in just as his head was thrown back when he came. His hips kept pumping and his face got so fucking hot, shit, this felt so damn good. Gintoki's ass was silky smooth, the muscles so tight and twitching. "Fuck, f-fuck, ahnnnn – shi-it, mmm."

His mouth was running away from him, all manner of words and moans falling out in drunken slurs. His thrusts slowed and each in and out was like laying his dick in a feather bed. That sounded odd, but he really couldn't describe how great it felt, he'd never had anything like it. Nothing could hold a candle to it and he knew it was true because he was even more honest with himself when he was drunk. He was a shuddering, shaking mess by the time his body relaxed and with a touch to Gintoki's hip, he pulled out.

He had enough sense to snag a tissue from beside the water dispenser and hold it out for Gintoki to take. He was slow to move, but he reached out for the tissue and took it as he stood. Hijikata swayed and looked away as Gintoki half-turned and cleaned himself, but something caught his eye that made him look back when Gintoki turned fully. It wasn't that Gintoki's lip was bloody, he must have cut it from biting on it or something, but the thing that hooked Hijikata's attention was his hard cock jutting out of his groin. His mouth watered, fuck all if he knew why, it just _did_. And he couldn't stop staring, which should have been embarrassing.

"Do what ya gotta to – ya know," Hijikata said hastily, pulling Gintoki to him by the shirt.

Hijikata yelped when Gintoki was on him, lifting him up and slamming him into a wall. Gintoki's face buried in Hijikata's neck, grunting while he rutted into the cradle of his hips. It was the first time that even though Hijikata was the taller of the two because of his shoes, he felt so much smaller. Hijikata wrapped his legs around Gintoki's hips and with a hand in his permy hair, Hijikata found that listening to and feeling Gintoki bring himself to climax was just as good as getting off. It was an equally new experience and Hijikata would be alarmed by that under any normal circumstances.

He tilted his head and licked and sucked at Gintoki's ear, making sure that every sound he made was heard. It wasn't often he made sounds like this, he couldn't remember the last time and he could recall no time where the pleasure had been this high and the passion this staggering. It filled his head and took him over, he didn't even recognize himself the way he was clinging to Gintoki and taking from him all he could. That meant every sound Gintoki made, every press of their skin, he barely knew the man, but at the same time it felt like he'd known Gintoki for so much longer, years, all his life, maybe even before then like the cycling of the sun and moon.

"C'mon, c-c'mon, cum f'me," Hijikata mouthed at Gintoki's ear and moaned because his sated cock was getting friction that sent his stomach churning. "Hnn do it – c'mon lemme feel it."

Hijikata could tell when Gintoki was about to cum, but he didn't pull back to see his face. Something in him told him that he wasn't ready for that, whatever that was supposed to mean. He just knew he shouldn't, so he didn't, but he could still feel it. He felt Gintoki's body tense and lock up, felt the way his breath caught and the reverberations of the jilted groan against his neck, he felt the way his body shuddered and how his hips kept thrusting, and the sticky ropes of cum that landed on Hijikata's skin shouldn't have been as electrifying as it was.

The sound of them breathing as hard as they were was loud and the music was once again distant. Sweat lined their brows and Hijikata was steeped in so much satiation that he could barely move. He just wanted to stay like that for the rest of the night, but he wanted a cigarette first, then he'd pass out.

He let Gintoki hold him there, breathing and getting blood on his neck before he squeezed his legs, muttering in a raspy voice, "Down."

It took Gintoki enough time to take a deep breath before he was moving and leaning to sit Hijikata down on the comfy seat. Almost synchronized, Hijikata pulled the rest of the tissues, there weren't much left, out of the box on the stand and Gintoki got them some water from the dispenser. They respectively cleaned themselves off and though Hijikata had a constant blush going, his face got hotter when he saw from the corner of his eye Gintoki reaching back behind himself to clean his ass again.

To say things had escalated quickly would be the most vast and devastating understatement of the current century.

Now that he was coming down from his high, Hijikata almost couldn't believe it. He'd just _fucked_ the _Shiroyasha_ at a _nightclub _dressed as a _woman_. This was either meant to be or both of them were sporting some pretty spectacularly fucked kinks... Hijikata didn't want to think about what it meant if both were true.

"Fuck, that was... not what I was expecting."

Hijikata paused. "What d'ya mean?"

"Nothin', just different."

He watched Gintoki dress himself slowly, but he couldn't read anything out of it, so he went back to collecting his own things. He kept glancing at Gintoki though, kept looking, searching, he didn't know why.

"Your mouth," Hijikata muttered softly, "it's still bleedin'." Gintoki raised the sleeve of his yukata, but Hijikata caught his wrist. "Don't use that!"

"The tissues are all used up!"

"Ugh, just h-hold on, wait a sec."

Slightly flustered, Hijikata began looking for an alternative. There weren't many options and he didn't know why he was so fervent that none of the blood get on Gintoki's clothes. In the end he decided to rip a strip off the inside of his kimono, a forearm's length of cloth that wouldn't be missed, and gave that to him. He didn't comment, just nodded and wiped off his mouth with one side of the strip, then got the other side wet to help clean it up.

"Did I get it all?"

Hijikata shook his head and took the cloth so he could use the wet side to rub at Gintoki's jaw. "What'd ya do?"

"Bit my lip, duh."

"Yeah," he gave Gintoki an impatient look, "I see that, moron."

"What?" Gintoki raised a brow and his mouth twisted into some kind of unsure smile. "You were shoving your dick up my ass and I bit myself, so what?"

Hijikata's face had gone bright red and he froze, his brain pending, trying to process that. They were both moving in choppy kind of motions, both going slow, both still mostly drunk. Hijikata was sure that if Gintoki were sober, he wouldn't have said that. But he had, it'd slipped out, and it got Hijikata thinking.

"D-did I do... _it_ wrong?"

Gintoki licked at the cut and shrugged. "Don't think so."

"You don't know?" Hijikata questioned, shoulders pinching up and voice raising. "I thought you knew what you were doin'!"

"I did!" Gintoki said, but then tipped his head back and forth in consideration. "Kinda."

"What the fuck d'ya mean _kinda_?" Panic, he was panicking. "Don't you fuckin' tell me you've never done that before!"

"I've had sex before!"

"With a _man_?"

Gintoki stared at him, just stared, face unreadable, and Hijikata went from panicked to pissed in the blink of an eye. He struck, he punched Gintoki in his stupid goddamn face, he was shaking he was so angry. Furious! He'd thought for sure Gintoki had done that before, had at least known what he was doing, if Hijikata had been informed otherwise it wouldn't have gone the way it had! Oh, shit, oh, fuck, Gintoki had acted like he'd known what he was doing! It'd been so believable, so convincing, Gintoki had hardly hesitated at all!

"You goddamn idiot! I knew you were stupid, b-but this – fuck you! This is stupid on a w-whole new level!"

"Keep your voice down!"

He swung at the bastard's face, but hit his shoulder instead. "Shut up! D-don't you say a fuckin' word!"

Hijikata was so worked up he wasn't seeing straight anymore and his jaw ached from grinding his teeth so hard. He remembered Gintoki sucking on his own fingers, remembered his hand disappearing and he knew now what that hand must have been doing. He wasn't such a prude that he didn't know a single thing about gay sex, it was true that he was pretty uneducated in that area, but he knew a little. So he knew enough to know that those few moments of prep hadn't been nearly enough, it couldn't have been. The bastard had broken skin biting through his own lip, biting through like some animal! It must have fucking hurt – and that was where Hijikata was stopped up short.

Guilt took hold, washing over his anger like a wet blanket on a fire. He looked at where Gintoki was sitting on the chair, sitting weird with his back straight and shoulders tense, Hijikata hadn't noticed before, with his hand over his mouth, his lip was bleeding again. It must still hurt – _of course it would_, his mind supplied – and Hijikata wasn't thinking of the other's lip. There was a foul taste in his mouth and he had to look away with his fists clenched at his sides so tight his nails dug into his palm. He didn't know what to do and he really wished he could pretend he didn't know why he even cared.

Heaving out a breath, trying to expel the distaste inside him, Hijikata forced himself to calm. Not entirely, he couldn't do that, the anger ran too deep and the guilt raged too strong. But enough, just enough to allow him to walk over and sit himself down next to Gintoki. At the core of the whole thing, he had to believe that what had happened was somehow something Gintoki had wanted. The bigger question was _why_ he'd wanted it, but Hijikata could only focus on one thing at a time. Gintoki was a fighter, a damn good one, if he'd wanted Hijikata to stop at any point, he could have done it. The fact that he hadn't said something, it _had _to say something otherwise Hijikata would never be able to feel in the least bit fine with any of it.

"Dammit," Gintoki mumbled, sucking on his lip and wiping a finger up his chin.

Hijikata spotted his bag in the crease of the seat and wondered why looking in there hadn't occurred to him before. "Here, lemme look in my bag, ah, thing."

"Purse," Gintoki supplied as he tilted his head so blood wouldn't drip off his chin, "the word you're looking for is purse, princess."

Hijikata spared a second to flip him off and opened his aforementioned bag thing to see if anyone had thrown in some tissues or napkins. Zaki had been the one to put it together because it stood to reason that he'd be good at it, so –

"Oh, goddamn it, Sougo!"

Gintoki side-eyed him. "Is that..." his lips wobbled like he was about to smile, "what I think it is?"

"I dunno," Hijikata lashed out, "what d'ya think it is, bastard?"

The permy idiot really did laugh, it burst out of him like he couldn't contain it any longer. For between Hijikata's fingers was a tampon with a little face sticking out its tongue on the wrapper, courtesy of Sougo. Gintoki was cracking up – he had to put a hand partially over his mouth to keep the blood from spilling – and listening to it, Hijikata was unable to keep the corner of his mouth from twitching up. Okay, so maybe it was _sorta_ funny, but still dumb, and there weren't any tissues. A snort blew of out Hijikata's nose when Gintoki's shoulder bumped into his and, after a notable pause, he sighed and bumped the bastard back.

"Give it here, I'll use it," Gintoki said after he'd calmed and opened his hand.

"No! That's – that's –"

"What? Might as well put it to good use."

Gintoki took it and pulled it out of the packaging, Hijikata was embarrassed enough to look away and he had to pinch the bridge of his nose because though his anger had burned some of effects of the alcohol off, it wasn't all gone yet. When he could manage to glance over, Gintoki's face was blood free and he was holding the tampon to his lip to apply pressure. A red eye slid over and Hijikata looked away, the silence was killer, but he didn't know how to break it. He looked down at his lap, at the bag between his fingers, and he cleared his throat.

"Could ya – ah... I can't go lookin' like this."

"Oh. Yeah, sure."

Relief made Hijikata's shoulders relax, but not by much, and he handed Gintoki the tiny bag. The relief surprised him, in a way. Really, he should want to part ways with the man as fast as possible, but he was dragging it out like some besotted bitch. He kept his eyes down as Gintoki stood up and he pretended with all his might that he hadn't seen the thickly veiled wince. Gintoki tossed the tampon into the small trash and dipped his fingers in the water so he could rub his hands together and make sure they were as clean as they could get. Hijikata let his head be stiffly tilted up when Gintoki grabbed his chin and it was almost funny watching someone like him concentrate so hard over something like makeup.

"Amazing your hair thing stayed in."

Hijikata looked to the side and grunted in abject agreement, he didn't care about his hair. He just knew he looked completely fucked, he _felt_ completely fucked, and he couldn't leave like that. The last thing he wanted was for Sougo to see him and give him hell, asking questions, all that shit. Hijikata already had a pit in his gut, a heavy weight, he knew it was guilt. It was guilt that he'd hurt Gintoki and guilt that he'd enjoyed himself so much. Not that he'd enjoyed hurting Gintoki in that way, definitely not that, but that he'd let his own need and desire override his judgment.

"Close your eyes."

Hijikata did so and probably looked stupid that his eyelid twitched each time Gintoki brushed some gunk on it. He could smell the bastard, the musk and sweet, and it wasn't disgusting, he almost liked it. It was kind of earthy almost, natural, it was Gintoki, and that kept Hijikata quiet. It eased him in a way because he did know that Gintoki didn't do anything he didn't want to do, that was the kind of man he was. He didn't just let things happen, if he'd wanted to fight it, he would have and he hadn't.

"Keep'em closed."

There wasn't a single thing in Hijikata that made him want to open them, he just listened and kept his eyes shut. He swallowed, the swell of anticipation making the hairs on the back of his head rise, but he had to bark out an amused sound when he felt the Go Away Light pressed into his palm like before. He took hold of it knowing he wouldn't need it and the feeling of Gintoki pulling his kimono along his right shoulder was so unintentionally sensual Hijikata shuddered. He let a breath slowly out of his mouth and gasped when Gintoki attached his mouth to Hijikata's clavicle.

Hijikata had never thought himself wanton, but he felt that way now with the way his hands immediately started clutching and his head fall back. He moaned because Gintoki was sucking so hard it hurt and it felt _good. _Strong hands held Hijikata's hips and teeth sank into his skin deep and pinching, it was a mixed kind of ecstasy. By the time Gintoki let go with a wet pop, they were both panting and Hijikata's eyes were squeezed shut tight.

Gintoki stood upright and it pulled Hijikata up with him so they were standing together. He had his fingers dug in Gintoki's clothes, sunk in like he could pierce right through his pale flesh, but he pried himself off. His eyes cracked open and they didn't look at each other as Gintoki closed up Hijikata's kimono and fixed it up right like he had before. Hijikata grabbed his back, flipped his hair – growling when he snagged a couple fingers in it – and straightened himself out one more time before they left.

The music, the club, the people, it all felt worlds away even though they were walking through it side by side. When they needed to, Gintoki would push his way through a crowd and Hijikata would grab his belt and follow so they wouldn't get separated. It was a lot easier to leave than it was to get in and like any popular place, there were taxis nearby. Gintoki opened the door to one of them and Hijikata slid in, the bastard following right after. It was a short ride to Kabukichou, of course they were going there first, it wasn't like Hijikata was going to take Gintoki back to the barracks and to force Gintoki to walk seemed cruel.

"You're running out of time to kiss me goodnight."

Hijikata swung his head around, mouth hanging open. "N-no – what? Why w-would I, ahn?"

"For showing you a good time! Besides, you owe me!"

"_Owe_ ya?" Hijikata was spinning his mental wheels. "For what?"

Gintoki stuck his bottom lip out and touched his pointer finger to his chin in a disgustingly innocent display. "Oogushi-kun made Gin-san's bum bum sore, how will he ever work to feed himself and his kids now?"

"Oh, you asshole! I don't owe ya shit, ya did it to yourself!"

"Hah? I didn't shove my own di –"

"No! Shut up!" Hijikata swatted at him and couldn't help thinking this normalcy, the bantering, felt good, even if his face was flushed. Quieter, he said, "M'still p-pissed at ya."

"I can live with that."

Hijikata bit his lip, warring with himself to say anything. They were getting close to Gintoki's apartment, his time was limited, it was either do or don't, do or don't. He didn't know how to say he felt bad, that it shouldn't have gone like that, they should have been more careful. The sheer embarrassment of it was stopped up in his throat and he couldn't form the words, he didn't know where to start. It was while he was struggling that Gintoki looked over and they stared at each other as a streetlight went by outside, illuminating the car in an orange-yellow glow.

"Make it up to me." Hijikata's whole body stiffened, was he seriously that fucking transparent? Could he really be read just like that in a matter of moments? Were all his emotions just plastered right there on his face for everyone to see? Usually he was so much more guarded than that! But here Gintoki was reading him like a goddamn book while Hijikata didn't have a single fucking clue what was on the parfait freaks' mind and his heart slammed against his ribcage when he heard a tacked on, "Next time."

"There won't be a next time, asshole!"

Gintoki smiled knowingly as the car slowed to a stop. "Sure there will be. When this," he reached out and pressed hard on the spot where he'd left a huge hickey, "disappears, come find me."

"Like hell! Imma workin' man! I don't have time for you and your bullshit! How 'bout you come'n find _me _to see if the damn thing disappeared!"

A shrug, then an easy, "Okay."

Hijikata was left stunned and blinking as Gintoki got out the car and shut the door. There were two thuds on the hood, Gintoki letting the driver know it was good to go, and Hijikata was on the move again. He blinked a couple more times, then twisted around in his seat to look out the back window. Gintoki wasn't standing in the road, wasn't waving or anything, he was slowly making his way toward the stairs and it couldn't have been Hijikata's imagination that there was a smile on his face.

"Shit," Hijikata breathed and scooted himself lower on the seat like he was hiding after getting caught seeing something he shouldn't have. "_Shit_!"

The second word was said against his palm because he'd slapped a hand over his mouth. He was blushing, his brows were scrunched, to the rest of the world he'd look like he was angry or perhaps about to be sick, but to himself, when he glanced at his reflection in the window, he looked like he had a crush the size of Mount Fuji on a moron with permy hair. He stared at himself and since he still had the Go Away Light in his other hand, he flashed it at his reflection over and over and over and over, hoping that it'd go away.

It didn't.

**THE END**


End file.
